Mary Ann Gilbert
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Mary Ann Gilbert (c.1776 – April 26, 1845[1]): Agronomist.
In 1814, Mary Ann Gilbert's uncle Charles Gilbert died. In his Will, he left her much property in Sussex, or to a future husband, if he changed his name to "Gilbert".
On April 18, 1808, she married Davies Giddy, a Cornish landowner, who had served as High Sheriff of the Duchy. He was an M.P. for Cornish constituencies from 1806 to 1832. Among his roles in Parliament was as Chairman of the Board of Agriculture. Mary Ann Gilbert was passionately concerned about low agricultural productivity and the plight of the rural poor. Davies was more interested in how the Parish Rate for the support of unemployed might be reduced.
Davies Giddy was also a professional applied mathematician and became a Fellow of the Royal Society, and, for an unhappy period, its President[2].
In December 1817 Davies Giddy took his wife's surname, "Gilbert", to perpetuate it. In January 1818, the names of their children were also changed.
Sharing her husband's interest, Mary Ann Gilbert managed some successful practical agronomical experiments at Beachy Head in feeding the poor, or rather, teaching them to feed themselves using land no-one else wanted, for a fair rent. She presented the statistical results of these works to her husband's political, scientific and "County" contacts. She was also a prominent member of the Labourers' Friend Society (later the Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes). Among those who advised her were Richard Whately, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and his brother, the Vicar of Cookham in Berkshire, Edwin Chadwick and William Gill of Chacewater, Cornwall.
Of their eight children, three daughters and a son survived her husband. Their son, John Davies Gilbert (December 5, 1811 – April 16, 1854) was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in April, 1834. He played a significant part, as landowner, in developng the town of Eastbourne.
| Mary Ann Gilbert | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1782 ? in Sussex |
| Died | April 26, 1845 |
| Occupation | Wife, Mother and Agricultual improvement practitioner and publiciser, friend of the impoverished agricultural labourer and their family. |
| Spouse | Davies Gilbert born Davies Giddy, (1767 – 1839), Scientist and Parliamentarian |
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[edit] Sources, Notes and References
[edit] Sources:
- Todd, A.C. (1956). "An Answer to Poverty in Sussex, 1830-45". Agricultural History review 4 (1): 45 – 51. Retrieved on October 30, 2006.
- ODNB David Philip Miller (2004). ‘Gilbert (Giddy) Davies (1767–1839). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.
- A.C. Todd, Beyond the blaze: A biography of Davies Gilbert, D.Bradford Barton, 1967.
